UN LYCÉE DANS LA GUERRE

During the war, the Lycée National, now the Lycée Raymond Poincaré, saw a large part of its premises requisitioned by the military authorities, who set up both a hospital and the "Direction des Étapes et des Services" of the Third Army. This service, headed by a general, was responsible for organising the transfer of troops, supplies and ammunition between the rear and the front. Its action was crucial during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. At no time was school life interrupted. The headmaster, Mr Chemin, and the headmaster, Mr Franquin, organised the boarding and day school with composure amidst the coming and going of officers, soldiers, nurses, doctors and the wounded. Classes were held for a smaller number of students: less than 100 in 1916 compared to 250 in normal times. During the alerts, the students, their teachers and the staff took refuge in the cellars and then classes resumed.. For four years, the Bar-le-Duc high school had to adapt to the harsh realities of war. 153 former students were killed in action. Their names appear under the entrance porch of the school, on a plaque inaugurated in 1921 by Raymond Poincaré.